In Brief
The Problem
When people are groomed as future leaders, they often feel trapped by others’ expectations and fixate on proving themselves worthy. Sometimes they end up blandly conforming to their organization’s established leadership ideal and losing their edge. Sometimes they leave altogether, depriving themselves of an opportunity and the organization of their talent.
The Remedy
High potentials struggle with this “talent curse” again and again as they take on new roles and challenges. But they can grow from the experience by accepting the help they need to thrive, bringing all facets of themselves to the job (not just those that say “leadership material”), and treating the present like a final destination.
There were many late nights during Thomas’s time at a private equity firm, but two of them really stand out. On the first, he was at a bar. Earlier in the day, his boss had let him know that he was the top performer in his cohort. Over drinks that evening, he struck up a conversation with a partner at a rival firm. “You’re the guy who closed two deals in six months, aren’t you?” the man asked. It was a moment Thomas had dreamed of and worked for since leaving his small town for college, the first in his family, years before.
